December 21, 2022 | Volume 12, No. 51

Walk with the Diocese in the Savannah

MLK Day Parade

Join the Diocese as we participate in the MLK Jr. Day Parade through Savannah on January 16, 2023.

Those who would like to participate may park at St. Matthew's and be shuttled to the beginning of the parade route in front of East Broad Elementary School. There will be a trolley for those who are not able to walk the entirety of the route.

The parade ends near St. Matthew's where the parish will host a short service of Communion and hold a reception. The parade begins at 10 a.m. and participants will need to arrive at St. Matthew's no later than 9 a.m. to shuttle to where the parade will begin.

Other opportunities to walk

Groups of Episcopalians also gather for the parades in Brunswick, Statesboro, Tybee Island, and elsewhere. If your congregation would like to share information with the Diocese in advance of the day, please email lwilliams@gaepiscopal.org

Leading with Grace opens Program Registration

Leading with Grace is a Diocese of Georgia leadership program for clergy and laity. Facilitators include clergy and laity from around the diocese, from some of our largest parishes to some of our smallest. This four-weekend program includes large and small group discussion and activities, along with research-based instruction, focusing on relationships  inside and outside the church, strategic planning for growth and change, best leadership practices, and opportunities for transformation through conflict and anxiety. All parish leaders - clergy, vestry, wardens, and committee leaders - are encouraged to attend. 



Each weekend begins Friday with Eucharist at

5 p.m. at Honey Creek, and concludes by 3:00 p.m. Saturday on the following weekends in 2023: 

• February 10-11 
• April 14-15 
• August 18-19 
• September 29-30 

Participants need to commit to each of the four weekends to fully benefit from the program. Teams of 2-4 from parishes are encouraged, although single participants (and larger teams) are welcome. Program Registration is now available at https://bit.ly/LeadingWithGrace. Room Reservations for each individual weekend will be available on the Honey Creek website in the new year.

Upcoming Youth Events and Registrations

New Beginnings #59

• When: February 24-46, 2023
• Who: Youth in Grades 7-9
• Where: Honey Creek!
• Cost: $145 per person

Participant Registration is available here: https://bit.ly/NBParticipants.

The Lead Teen for New Beginnings #59 is Jackson Beckham from St. Anne's in Tifton. More information is available at https://gaepiscopal.org/youth-ministries/.

Happening #107

• When: March 24-46, 2023
• Who: Youth in Grades 9-12
• Where: Honey Creek
• Cost: $145 per person

Registration for Candidates is available here: https://bit.ly/HappeningParticipants.

Staff applications for those who have previously attended Happening are also open now, and are available here: https://bit.ly/HappeningStaffApplication.

The Rector for Happening #107 is Adair Weston, form the Church of the Good Shepherd, Augusta. More information is also on the Georgia Happening Website: www.georgiahappening.com.

Episcopal Youth Event 2023

The next E.Y.E. will be held July 4-8, 2023. The anticipated cost for the event, including travel, food, and fees, will range between $700-$800. Scholarship assistance is available.

If you are a high school youth or adult advisor who would be interested in learning more, fill out the interest form found here.

For more information or questions, contact Canon Joshua Varner at jvarner@gaepiscopal.org.

Give the Gift of Summer Camp and Save

Are you at a loss as to what to give your kids, or grandkids, or any other young person in your life? Now you can register them for Summer Camp at Honey Creek, and if they're registered by December 31, you get a $75 discount on the cost of camp!

There are three Summer Camp Sessions, all of which take place in June 2023.

• High School Camp, June 4-10, 2023
• Camp St. Peter (Currently in grades 6-8), June 11-17, 2023
• Camp St. Joseph & Mary (currently in grades 3-5), June 18-24, 2023

Register now, at http://www.honeycreek.org/camps, save $75, and guarantee your place at camp this summer. It's going to be great!

Two conventions needed to elect Bishop Barnwell

As we approach the bicentennial of our founding in 2023, we will share the story of the Diocese of Georgia. This week we remember the election of Bishop Barnwell.

In 1934, Bishop Frederick F. Reese was in his 26th year as Bishop of Georgia when he called for the election of a successor. At a special convention later that year, the delegates established the Bishop Coadjutor’s salary at $5,000 (which is $111,200 in 2022 dollars) and provided that Bishop Reese should have the use of “the Episcopal Residence” in Savannah “for the remaining years of his life free of expense and without any embarrassment.” 

Three rectors and three bishops of missionary dioceses made the slate. Twelve ballots were taken without any one nominee receiving the required thirteen clerical and nine lay votes for a majority. Dr. Henry Phillips, Rector of Trinity in Columbus, South Carolina, led in the clergy balloting, while Dr. C.C.J. Carpenter of St. John’s in Savannah led in the lay order. Dr. Jimmy Lawrence of Calvary in Americus and the three bishops lagged in the voting. The Special Convention adjourned. 

The special convention met again in January 1935 at St. Paul’s in Augusta with Phillips, Carpenter, and Lawrence nominated as a slate of three. In four ballots Dr. Phillips continued to lead with clergy and Dr. Carpenter favored by the laity. The convention dropped the bottom vote getter after the next ballot, which removed Dr. Lawrence from the slate. The sixth ballot revealed the same deadlock. The convention voted to remove Philips and Carpenter from further consideration. 

The convention approved a new slate with Dr. Lawrence back on the ballot with the bishops considered in the first special convention brought back for consideration: Missionary Bishop William P. Remington of Oregon, Missionary Bishop Elmer N. Schmuck of Wyoming, and Missionary Bishop Middleton Stuart Barnwell of Idaho. Bishop Barnwell’s name led the votes in each order without getting a majority. On the ninth ballot, the convention elected Bishop Barnwell as Bishop Coadjutor.

A relation of Georgia’s first bishop, Middleton Stuart Barnwell was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1882. He earned his Bachelors in Divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary. Barnwell served as an assistant rector in Baltimore before becoming the rector of St. Andrew’s Church in New Bedford, Massachusetts. While there, he married Margaret Thorne Lighthall (1889-1960).



Barnwell worked at the Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama, from 1913-1923. He then became field secretary to the Protestant Episcopal Church before being consecrated Bishop of Idaho in 1925. During the late 1920s and early 30s, Barnwell ran St. Margaret’s School, a secondary girls academy in Boise, Idaho. He advocated that the academy become a junior college so that local high school graduates could begin their college education without out-of-state costs and he secured funding from The Episcopal Church. Bishop Barnwell served as the college president for Boise Junior College from 1932 until 1934. The college grew to become Boise State University.

Barnwell had served as Missionary Bishop of Idaho for nearly a decade when the call for a bishop coadjutor went out from the Diocese of Georgia. At the time of his 1935 election as Bishop of Georgia, there were 16 parishes, 21 organized missions, 13 unorganized missions, five mission stations and one parochial mission. The segregated church records noted 5,391 white and 1,029 black communicants. 

Pictured: Bishop Middleton Stuart Barnwell. Photo courtesy Boise State University Library.

Feast of Feasts online

The Diocese of Georgia is offering daily devotions written by Bishop Frank and Victoria Logue for a 7-week study from Advent through Epiphany. The short daily readings use the lens of Franciscan ideals including humility, simplicity, and peace as a focal point of each week. This is perfect to enjoy as a solo study, a small group, or as an offering for the whole congregation. The devotions are being posted online daily on our website and social media channels.

You can find each week's devotions, as well as the accompanying video for the week, on our website. Click on the day of the devotion, and it will expand with the day's reading.

You can find additional ways to acquire the full PDF online or the book on our website here.

Order a Diocese of Georgia embroidered seal

Order your own hand-embroidered Diocese of Georgia seal designed to go on a tippet (preaching scarf). Made by Trevor Floyd, who also made the new Diocesan banner at the office and at Sewanee, now has this pattern if anyone else in the Diocese wishes to get one as part of a bulk order. Each seal is $65.

Thanks also to Archdeacon Yvette Owens who prompted our getting this made.

If you would like to buy a seal, contact Canon Loren Lasch at llasch@gaepiscopal.org by January 4, 2023.

The blessing of the Christ Church, Frederica Labyrinth, designed and built by noted labyrinth creator, Chuck Hunner, took place on Sunday, December 11, 2022. The Labyrinth, located on St. Simons Island, can be found in the woodland, across Frederica Road from Christ Church. It is open from dawn to dusk every day, and all, including individuals or groups, are invited to walk it.

For more information, visit https://ccfssi.org/labyrinth.html.

Beth Mithen (left) with the Very Rev. Leslie Dellenbarger (right) in the new Advent chausible Mithen made for St. John's in Bainbridge. She also made the chalice coverings and hangings.

St. Andrew's and St. Cyprian's held their combined Christmas Pageant.

Christ Church in Dublin makes the front page of The Courier Herald for their annual

Christmas Bazaar fundraiser.

Saint Paul's in Augusta held their annual pageant.

Members at St. Barnabas in Valdosta decorated the church for Christmas.

If you would like to have your submission considered for From the Field, it needs to be sent to Communications Manager Liz Williams (lwilliams@gaepiscopal.org) by noon on Tuesday.

Our one-year prayer cycle combines prayers for every congregation in the Diocese of Georgia with prayers for our ecumenical partners and for our Companion Diocese of The Dominican Republic.  

The 2022 one year prayer cycle is online here: 2022 Prayer Cycle.    

The 2023 one year prayer cycle is online here: 2023 Prayer Cycle. 

December 25 - December 31

In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our Bishop, Frank Logue, and our retired bishop, Scott Benhase. We pray for our ecumenical partners, especially, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah and their Bishop, Gregory Hartmayer; and for the Evangelical Lutheran Church’s Southeast Synod and their Bishop, Kevin Strickland. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for their Bishop, Moisés Quezada, and retired bishops, Julio Holguin, Telésforo Isaac, and William Skilton.

January 1 - 7

In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregations in Albany—St. John & St. Mark’s , St. Patrick’s, and St. Paul’s. We also pray for the Lutheran Church of Our Savior and and for our other ecumenical partner in Albany, St. Teresa Catholic Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for St. James the Apostle (Santiago Apóstol) in Angelina. 

Newly Revised 31-Day Prayer Cycles

We also offer 30-day prayer cycles for those who wish to pray daily for the clergy and clergy spouses: Diocesan Prayer Cycle and Clergy Spouses Prayer Cycle. (Updated 11/30/2022)

Bishop Frank and Victoria will be traveling to Phoenix, Arizona, to visit their daughter, Griffin, December 21-27.

To view Bishop Logue's full visitation calendar, click here. (Updated for 2023 - 8/30/2022)

Picture: Bishop Logue with the Revs. Melanie Lemburg (left) and Aimee Baxter (right) in between services at St. Thomas Isle of Hope in Savannah. This was Bishop Logue's last visitation for 2022.

Executive Assistant to the Bishop Maggie Lyons and Canon Katie Easterlin are on maternity leave.

Assistant Administration Daniel Garrick will be out of the office December 20-26.

Canon Loren Lasch will be on vacation December 27-30.

Canon Joshua Varner will be on vacation December 27- January 2.

Communications Manager Liz Williams will be on vacation December 27-30.

The office will be closed on December 23, 26, 30, and January 2.

The best way to reach a staff member is via email as we will always get back with you promptly in many cases and in 24-72 hours when working on more pressing matters. Staff e-mails can be found here with a list of responsibilities so you know who to contact for what.

You may also reach diocesan staff by phone at (912) 236-4279.

A little sheep at the St. Andrew's and St. Cyprian's Christmas pageant goes rogue.